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Monthly Archives: June 2016

Picture provided by press release. I took pictures but they’re worthless. My lighting is crap since my hiatus ended and I’m generally not awake for sunlight hours. 😉

Today I have Nautica’s Voyage Sport Eau de Toilette to review. It’s new for 2016, and is meant to “capture the mind, body, and heart it takes to endure and push beyond one’s own limits.” I love fragrance releases with that kind of tagline.

It opens with pure, cool accents of Sea Spray Accord and Sea Salt. This invigorating breath of fresh air is enhanced with doses of spicy Coriander and crisp Citrus Zest. The heart is a powerful aromatic combination of Geranium, Green Peppercorn, Apple and Palm Leaves, reinforcing the fragrances bold and lush freshness. The base is a vibrant and magnetic blend of Brazil Wood, Musk, Patchouli and Vetiver.

Notes | The citrus and geranium are very present at the front, with a bit of vague sea-type notes. I can definitely grab apple and vetiver as well, along with some woods and musk at the bottom. I can’t normally pick up coriander, nor can I really ever recognize patchouli, of all notes!

Longevity | I say this is fairly long-lasting. I say maybe 6 hours or so?

Hello my friends! Today I have a gorgeous bag of Lancôme goodies to review. Full disclaimer: yes, I used to work for Lancôme. Yes, I have used some of these products before. Yes, I love Bi-Ficil. But believe it or not, I’ve never used any of the others for an extended period of time. And so, here we go.

Texture, scent, and appearance-wise, this is on par with all other Lancôme creams, meaning that they’re quite moisturizing and feel heavy at first, but quickly sink in and hydrates for a long time. Absolute is the anti-aging, hydrating, repairing, do-it-all, top-of-the-line collection from Lancôme. It helps with firmness, elasticity, hydration, luminosity, and on and on. I regularly use Lancôme’s High Resolution line, and Absolue is a bit thicker, a bit more hydrating, but I didn’t personally notice any plumping or more or less suppleness, but my only real concern with my skin is translucency and hydration, which this did continue to do in place of High Res.

Basically, this is a gorgeous moisturizer that does do what it claims, and does separate itself from Lancôme’s other lines, which is something I feel can be rare for a company.

The biggest issue I have with this moisturizer is that it does contain Hydrolyzed Malt Extract, meaning it is derived from barley, a gluten grain. Meaning I can’t use it for more than three days without a serious breakout.

The other issue is being the price. 0.5 oz is priced at $50, 1.7 oz at $166, and 2.6 at $196.

Next up is Lancôme’s Advanced Génefique Youth Activating Serum. This is one that I’ve never actually used! Chiefly because I’m a Visionnaire user, and the second any Génefique that enters my house is immediately kidnapped and used by my mother. She cannot live without it. I hid this one on her so I could be sure to have a chance to try it.

To test this, as with Absolue, I quit use of Visionnaire for the week.

The texture of this is different from Visionnaire, where Vis is a thicker gel, where this is much more of a “lotion”, watery serum, a la Advanced Night Repair from Estee Lauder (another favorite of mine). At first it just sat on my skin and I was a little disappointed, but then about 15 seconds in, you can feel your skin drink it in, and you’re left with a soft-tacky feel that completely fades away once you have your moisturizer on. It did give my skin a lovely translucency and “inner glow” without being slick or shiny. I absolutely adore this serum and am now pairing it with Visionnaire, as Vis is better at pores and skintone, where Genefique is more firmness, glow, and works with Visionnaire as an extra boost of skin clarity. I’m so, so happy with my skin right now. If you can get a chance to try this, I absolutely will recommend it.

The pricing on this one is much easier to chew on. $78 – 175 for 1.0-3.4 oz.

Confession time: I’ve never ever touched a self-tanner before. I’m extremely pale and I’ve never fought it. So all I can truly say about this is that it smelled nice, had a thin texture that spread evenly, and that it deepened my skin by about 2-3 shades. I have nothing to compare this to, so… I mean… yeah.

Today I have Nerium International’s Age-Defying Eye Serum to review. First up, what the company says about the product:

With the hands of time, the thin skin around the eyes is often the first place to reveal the signs of aging. With the years come fine lines, crow’s feet, and for many, troublesome dark circles and puffiness. Combating these issues is the key to keeping you looking younger, longer. That’s where Nerium’s NEW Age-Defying Serum comes in.

Nerium’s Age-Defying Eye Serum is an advanced age-fighting product that works to address all the signs of aging around the eye area to help you look fresh and bright-eyed.

This innovative, multifunctional serum works two ways to deliver maximum age-fighting benefits.

It works immediately to diminish the appearance of fine lines, hydrating the eye area as it dries to a soft, matte finish.

With daily-use, this anti-oxidant rich eye serum firms and brightens the appearance of the eye area while also working to address:

Dark circles

Puffiness

Wrinkles

A key component of this intensive age-fighting product is its unique “serum-to-matte” texture, which helps seal in its key ingredients for maximum benefit.

Additionally, the Age-Defying Eye Serum is designed to maintain and support optimal health, formulated with a pH similar to the pH of your skin. This ensures maximum age-fighting benefits in a formula that works in harmony with your skin.

It continues on to explain how their patented SIG-1191 molecule delivers targeted anti-oxidant power to smooth skin while hydrating. They list other Key Ingredients as:

SIG-1191: A patented, exclusive ingredient that works as a super antioxidant and skin hydrator specifically developed to target aging around eyes.

I-FIL4R: An exclusive ingredient from White Lily and Brazilian Ginseng that helps reduce the appearance of puffiness, fine lines and dark circles.

Caffeine: A potent vasoconstrictor which helps minimize the appearance of dark circles and puffiness.

Jojoba Esters: Superior hydrators, for light, yet intensive moisturizing of the thin skin around the eyes.

Green Tea: A well-known antioxidant that guards against damage caused by UV rays.

Alrighty, now it’s my turn.

Result: I used this for three days with no negative reactions, despite having quite sensitive skin. I don’t have too much puffiness, but I did see a marked reduction in allergy related puff and dark circles, despite getting no sleep this week. As for wrinkles, I can’t really say too much about that, but the skin around the eye area is very smooth and supple, so I’d say it’s a fair chance that any fine lines would be at least partially reduced. I had my mom try it, but she did not like the texture at all… Speaking of…

Texture: Appearance-wise, this isn’t the most attractive serum. The scent is nearly non-existent, clinical, very much like Clinique or Elizabeth Arden. Where this serum really loses my interest is in the feel and drydown. It’s sticky, almost tacky, and dries down almost tight. It’s a good serum, effective. I just personally don’t like the feel of it.

I know it’s horrible to judge on appearance, but I mean… that doesn’t really look very appealing, and since I don’t specifically need an anti-aging eye serum yet, I’ll likely not be using this one too often.

BOTTOM LINE: If you don’t care about textures that dry down matte or “tight”, then this is a very effective serum for you. If textures are a picky thing for you, then I’d find a way to try this before you buy it.

Product is free of artificial colors, dyes, fragrance, parabens, sulfates, phthalates and is dermatologist tested. Available for purchase at Nerium for $80.00

Disclaimer: Product was provided to Kettle Rose for review, but the views and opinions expressed are my true and honest experience with the product after a fair and unbiased trial.